


The Butterfly Effect

by Larosie



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Character Death, Child Death, District 11 (Hunger Games), District 2 (Hunger Games), Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:20:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29296518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larosie/pseuds/Larosie
Summary: A minor change, such as flapping of wings by a butterfly, can create a phenomenal change.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy so, this is a small side part to the Hunger games story, I'll still be working on Bad Fortune but this is just a short thing

Fate had always been a weird thought for Jeremy. It had always been something thrown around, even if it was something small about what his family members told him what would happen when he got older. He had always been confused whether he believed it or not. Yes, his life had practically been set up for him, and he knew there wasn’t too much he could do about it, but there were things that seemed to make the path ahead of him become less clear, fog covering up the line and it soon becoming a long path, but no map to follow. He could just try and keep following, but if he wanted to, Jeremy could just walk right off it. 

…

He had always been very stubborn emotionally, ever since he was little. He was surrounded by people and teachers who said it was an honor to be in the Hunger Games, but Jeremy couldn’t agree. Maybe it was because of his mom, who had always been disgusted by the thoughts of it, and when he was young and had to watch the games, he would look over to see her bite her nails so much as they would break when she would watch tributes one by one being slaughtered. His dad never stated his own opinion on these matters, so it was easy enough for Jeremy to be influenced by his mom.

It wasn’t the best thing on his end for him personally. He was some of the worst in his class. Jeremy was pretty intelligent, yes, but mentally, and sometimes physically had been a weakness of his. He didn’t want to be in the games, and his classmates all knew about it and despised him for it. They would make him come back from home bruised, and sometimes he had dried blood on his face. It was because they had all been calling him ‘a disgrace’ or ‘unhonorable’, and seemed to like taking their anger out on him. 

He had been 15 years old when he signed up to be a Peacekeeper. Normally it hadn’t been too normal to sign up at such a young age, but unless a mentor picked you or you volunteered, it was almost impossible to actually be in the Hunger Games, and Jeremy had been that part of the group in the academy. It was better to start early for him. 

His expectations for training to be a peacekeeper weren’t that high however. He expected that the training would be like the academy, maybe even worse. His dad’s side of the family had a tradition of each generation being a peacekeeper, which meant Jeremy of course had been next. His mom would sometimes tell him that his dad changed a lot after those 20 years of being a peacekeeper. He never spoke too much about it, but his dad would sometimes get nightmares really late at night, and it was why his dad was always tired throughout most of the day. Jeremy was afraid of that. Not being able to sleep and feel as if you can’t breathe, but he had to do it. It wasn’t a choice of his.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry for this chapter being so short, I've been lacking some inspiration and motivation lately (and there's less to talk about this chapter) but hopefully the next one ends up being much longer and I will be able to get the plot moving much faster! :))

He hadn’t been able to sleep that night before being taken. Thoughts only had been racing through his head about becoming a peacekeeper. He still dreaded the idea of it all, and 20 years of it made his stomach turn. That morning he almost dropped his head onto the table when eating breakfast from how tired he had been.

As tired as he was, Jeremy tried ignoring it so he could save the few minutes he had left with his parents. They would of course try to send letters to each other, but was still saddening to have to leave. He was mostly talking with his mother, comments like how much she’ll miss him, and Jeremy getting hugs he knew he would miss from her. His dad hadn’t said too much, but Jeremy still enjoyed being with him and still talking. He could tell the reason he wasn’t speaking much was because of his dad being scared for him.

…

“Hey dad, how did working for those 20 years change you?” Jeremy asked his dad.

“It changed… not too much, but at the same time it was a lot. I’m still me but it also came with other things too” His dad responded. He wasn’t expecting a response from him, so Jeremy’s eyebrows lifted up at that. Normally he wasn’t allowed to ask his dad about this, since his mom said it made him uncomfortable. It was most likely he answered him due to his own son about to become a peacekeeper himself.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, your mother already told you about the nightmares, but there are other things I get too. I get full of guilt sometimes. Sometimes I would think that I would get brainwashed into being someone who was proud of myself, just like everyone else, But I couldn’t. I only felt an incredible guilt that I still feel almost all the time.”

Jeremy held his breath at that response. Yes, he should have expected it but at the same time it was the last thing he wanted to get out of him. 

“Do you think it’ll change me, too?”

His dad sighed, then looked over at Jeremy, he looked saddened,

“I’d really like to hope it won’t”


End file.
